§ Mr. Ron Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set up an inquiry to investigate the propriety of any firm manufacturing any goods which bear the name of a religious leader, past or present, with particular reference to the name Jesus in a Christian country.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisNo. The present law relating to the application of names to goods in the course of trade gives adequate powers to control activities within the responsibilities of my department. It is declared unlawful by Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1938 to register as a trade mark or part of a trade mark any matter the use of which would be contrary to law or morality, or any scandalous design. The Registrar of Trade Marks has acted in recent years to refuse registration on these grounds in respect of the words "Hallelujah" and "Jesus". In addition Section 17 of the Companies Act provides that no company shall be registered by a name which in the opinion of the Secretary of Stat[...] undesirable.